(Adds detail, background)
April 19 (Reuters) - Chilean miner Antofagasta said on Wednesday its copper output fell in the March quarter
from the previous three months due to lower water availability
and reduced ore grades.
The London-listed group said it produced 145,900 tonnes of
copper in the first quarter, down 25.4% from the fourth quarter
of last year due to lower grades at its Centinela mine and as
operations at the flagship Los Pelambres mine were hit by water
shortage in drought-hit Chile.
However, production was up 5.1% from the year-ago period.
Demand for copper, which is used in "green" applications
from solar panels to electric cars, is expected to increase as
countries around the world look to make energy transitions.
Antofagasta - which operates four mines in Chile, the
world's largest copper producer - reiterated that it expects
copper output in 2023 to come in between 670,000 and 710,000
tonnes.
(Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
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